Indoor Tanning Tips How to Deal with Little White Spots?
Posted: Friday, November 02, 2007
by Aaron Andrews
Tan Indoors
If you start tanning, you may notice little white spots appearing to form on your skin. These spots result from a skin condition called Tinea versicolor. Tinea versicolor causes patches of skin that are darker and lighter than normal skin and is especially noticeable when the skin tans. The word "versicolor" means "different colors." The fungus that causes tinea versicolor interferes with pigmentation. As a result, patches of skin will not tan as well. Generally, this condition will only become noticeable when the skin starts to tan.UV, or ultraviolet, rays are the light that causes tanning indoors in a tanning bed or outside in the sun. It's very frustrating to have paid for home tanning equipment or a club membership to be able to do indoor tanning and end up looking spotty. People with these white spots are often self conscious about their appearance and tanning makes it even worse.
Tanning TIps for Handling White Spots
Here are some tanning tips that can help people with tinea who want a tan that looks good even with this condition.
- The first tip is to put off tanning until the fungal infection is under control. Since it is a fungus, antibiotics won't work, but there are oral and topical antifungal drugs that do work. The drawback is that they can be pretty expensive and don't work instantly. Even when treatment has been complete, tinea can sometimes return and require more therapy.
- Patches of skin may still not match well even when the fungus is killed, so whether you are going outside or doing indoor tanning, you may also need to use a self tanning lotion or bronzer on the lighter patches to match them to the tanned skin. Darker patches can be concealed with a cover-up type of make up. There are special brands that last for many hours and are waterproof. Investing in these is a good idea, since discoloration can persist quite a long time.
- Another tanning tip is to tan less than you normally would, since the deeper the tan, the more obviously the discolorations will stand out. This can make covering the color discrepancies easier. When the skin is healed, it will take time for the formerly infected spots to catch up, so you will need to be patient.
- If you have these white spots, curing it means taking or applying your medication as directed and as long as directed. Don't stop taking the medication before you finish following the entire prescription, even if the spots appear to go away. If you don't completely kill the fungus, it can grow back after you let up on the medication – so you need to make sure you finish off your course of medication.
- Tinea versicolor grows best on oily and moist skin, so good hygiene and oil controlling cosmetics can also help.
Aaron Andrews is a tanning bed enthusiast. He has worked in a number of tanning salons since 1986, and then for a tanning bed manufacturer and tanning bed supply company. He now writes indoor tanning tips articles about his experiences to help you make the best tanning decisions and find the best sunless tanning lotion. Aaron operates TanIndoors.com - a site dedicated to improving your indoor tanning experience.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)I found this article very informative. I have tanned off and on for years and started up again just recently. I have never had these white spots before, until now. This is also the first time I have used a "hydration station" (personal wet sauna) before tanning and I think this may have enhanced or even started the problem since it gets the skin very moist before tanning. I am going to try tanning less often and avoid using the hydration station for a while and see if that helps.
I have tanned for years and never had this problem. I just began using a hydration station before tanning as well and suddenly am struggling with these white spots/blotchy skin.
From what I have heard you can pick up the fungus from a less than clean tanning bed.That's absolutely right... because the tanning beds can stay warm (and eww... wet) in between the times that they're being used, it can be quite a fun place for the little fungi to live. You absolutely need to be careful that the tanning salon you're visiting looks like a nice, clean place. Thanks for the feedback with the low number of stars... [ :-( ] You've motivated me to try to make this post a bit more attractive.
i spoke with my doctor and i have personally been using lotrimin ant-fungal cream and it has decreased the shape and color in less than a week, I encourage you to trt it, I have also noticed that you will need to use this cream at least 2 times a day in heavy doses. Good Luck
I went to the dermetologist because I used to get the white spots even after tanning outdoors or indoors and I had them for years. It is a fungal infection, but it's a natural fungus that is normally on your skin. The heat and sweat causes an over/under reaction causing the white spots. The dermatologist recommended using Selsun Blue on my skin as a body wash. Where the white spots are most noticable leave the Selsun Blue on very think (so that it's still very blue colored). This worked and made them go away within two weeks and I have since used the Selsun Blue as a body wash once a week and they haven't come back (it's been a year and a half)!!
For those of you looking to get away from skin damaging traditional tanning methods or worse, take a look at the site herbalinstanttan. com This new product called 100% Herbal Instant Tan is an Organic Tanning lotion, doesn't include DHA which is still a chemical used in other self tanners, however '100% Herbal Instant' only uses herbal ingredients and nothing else, but gives you that golden/bronze tan you want! The website also shows a product video which gives info on it, as well as ordering options.
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